It felt like a big exhale.
That’s how I’ve been describing our 12-day trip to Finland that we returned from a week ago. A much-needed exhale.
The landscape was beautiful, the people lovely (if reserved), the experiences magical. We rode e-fat bikes 20 miles up serious hills, hiked another 7, tromped through a bog, and clocked over 20k steps a day in Helsinki. We also slept in, read books, fully embraced Finnish sauna culture, and sat on pillows of lichen drinking warm blueberry juice while watching the forest and sky shift with the light.
It was the trip I didn’t know I needed, but apparently the universe did when it showed me an Instagram ad for “arctic autumn.”
Here’s the thing though: I don’t know that it would have been all that it was if I hadn’t actually committed to disconnecting.
I told clients I wouldn’t be available. I turned off Slack notifications. I deleted LinkedIn from my phone. Email was super quiet because people knew I was gone.
My husband and I only talked about my business twice. Once was when I confessed I was feeling guilty for not using some of our downtime to think about work. The Pusher and Responsible parts of me can be really hard to quiet down. But by naming it out loud, I recognized what was happening and was able to invite in Being and Playful instead.
And that exhale? That’s what I came home with—replenished energy I’d been sorely missing.
I’ve long counseled leaders to truly disconnect, both for themselves and for how they role model for their teams. This trip reinforced why that message matters.
If you’ve built a strong team, extended trust, and empowered them to do great work, taking a break should be easy. Not guilt-inducing. Easy.
Some people reset on beaches. Others in big cities. For me, it’s the forest—feeding reindeer, chasing the aurora, sitting still while the light changes everything.
If you’re feeling burned out or lacking energy, what do you need to reset? And what needs to happen to actually make that time possible?
Figure it out. Make it happen.
Then exhale.
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